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2 months ago
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EXCLUSIVE: Tioleja Films has optioned four of author Gabriel Souleyka‘s novels: Solitude, My Soul is a Witness, Akoni Yoruba, and Toya for cinematic adaptation.
Tioleja recently entered into a production deal with Ten Ten Global Media to co-produce My Soul is a Witness. Ten Ten is a multimedia company founded by Lisa Osinloye and Simone Y. White that produces feature film and television projects. They executive produced 2020’s feature film The Last Full Measure. Yasmina Fagbemi Edwards (Bigger Than Africa), CEO of Tioleja Films, is attached to produce each adaptation, along with Gabriel Souleyka as screenwriter and producer.
Gabriel holds a PhD in History, with a specialty in African History. He published his 2020 debut novel, Le Cri De L’Innocence, in France. For many years, he worked as a script doctor, and then worked on various film projects as a screenwriter. He has already released five historical novels that have ranked as high-sellers on Amazon. His sixth novel, Toya, will be released this fall.
“Knowing your history is an act of resistance,” Gabriel said. “When a people doesn’t know its history, it is condemned to relive it.”
“Tioleja Media just marked its first anniversary. We have six epic historical novels under our publishing division, with four being adapted to screen,” said Edwards. “Our focus will be fiction and nonfiction work that showcase diverse African narratives spanning thousands of years. Telling inspiring stories that elevate everyday heroes to their rightful places in history remains one of our core mission.”
Below are the synopses of the four novels to be adapted.
My Soul Is A Witness 1939, in Dakar, Awa and Ibrahim marry, but their happiness is shattered when Ibrahim is drafted into the war and disappears in 1940. Devastated, Awa joins the resistance in France to find him, but ends up deported to Auschwitz, where she continues to fight with unshakeable courage.
Solitude Ayomidé, 14, captured in Dahomey, sold in Guadeloupe, raped by a sailor on the ship, gives birth to a daughter, Solitude, who grows up with a rebellious, determined spirit. She becomes an emblematic figure in the resistance against slavery.
The Legend of Akoni 1770 in Dahomey, 12-year-old Akoni is captured by slavers. After a cruel ordeal in Saint-Domingue, he fights for his freedom to be reunited with his family.
Toya A formidable Mino warrior from Dahomey, was sold into slavery in Saint-Domingue, where she raised a son, Jean Jacques Dessalines, the first emperor of Haiti. She took an active part in the fight for Haitian independence.
